Finding Coral
by dispix208
Summary: When Marlin keeps having dreams about his mate, Coral, he begins to think that she didn't really die. He, Nemo and Dory go on an adventure to find her. Will they find what they're looking for? Read and find out!


Finding Coral

By: dispix

**Author's Note: Hi, everyone! So, I haven't gotten a lot of reviews for my last story yet, but the ones I did get weren't ones that I was too happy about. So, I'm going to try again with another story. This time, I've decided to write a **_**Finding Nemo **_**fic, since that is one of my favorite movies. Remember to read and review! With that, enjoy the story! **

**This story takes place about a month after the movie. In case you're wondering how Dory is managing to live in the anemone with Nemo and Marlin without getting stung, my explanation for that is that she adapted to the anemone's stings like Nemo and Marlin did. **

**I don't own any of the settings or characters except for my original characters. For those of you who read my last story, sorry I didn't put a disclaimer for that one. I'll try to remember to put one on all my Fanfics. **

Chapter 1

Marlin the clownfish was outside his anemone with his mate Coral. They were enjoying their surroundings and flirting with each other. All of a sudden, the area below them, filled with life only seconds before, was empty. Marlin turned to see a big, evil-looking barracuda right in front of Coral. Marlin, panicked, told Coral to get inside with their eggs. Coral was too afraid to move. Then, the barracuda began attacking both of the clownfish, knocking Marlin awoke, panicked. He looked around him and realized that it was only a dream. He then went back to sleep.

Marlin dreamed a voice that sounded like Coral's was calling his name from far away. He tried to answer, but couldn't. The voice kept calling, sounding farther and farther away. All of a sudden, Marlin felt himself being shaken and voices telling him to wake up.

Marlin awoke and shouted, "Coral!" He then realized that a blue fish and a smaller clownfish were staring at him.

"Dad, are you okay," asked the smaller clownfish, who was named Nemo.

"I'm fine, I just had a bad dream, that's all," answered Marlin.

"Dory and I are beginning to get worried about you," said the smaller clownfish. "You've been acting like this for over a week now. Are you sure you're okay?"

Marlin looked at the two fish. Then, he took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'll tell you." He turned towards his son and asked, "Remember when I told you what happened to your mom?"

"Yeah, you told me she was killed by a barracuda," said Nemo. The blue fish gasped and said, "Oh, you poor thing." Marlin, ignoring the blue fish, continued, "Well, I'm beginning to think that maybe the barracuda didn't eat her. Maybe she's still alive."

"But dad, you saw the barracuda attack her. You know she's gone." Marlin then told his son and the blue fish about his dreams. There was a pause. Then, Marlin thought of something.

"I have to find her," he said. "She was calling for me and looking for me. I have to go right now."

"But dad, what about-"began Nemo.

"Nemo, there's no time for that. Your mother needs me." Nemo hesitated. Then, he said, "I want to come with you." Marlin just looked at his son as if he had committed a crime.

"What did you say," he asked, shocked.

"I said I would like to come with you."

"Oh, no, you don't! You're not going anywhere young fish! You are staying here with Dory."

"Dad, why can't I go with you?"

"I don't want anything to happen to you again."

"If I'm with you, I wouldn't get taken away from you again." Marlin looked at his son for a moment. Then, he said, "All right. You can come with me." Nemo was so happy that he hugged his dad. When he was finished, he said, "We're gonna make a great team."

Chapter 2

As Marlin and Nemo swam out of the anemone, the blue fish called after them, "Excuse me! Just where do you think you two are going?"

"We're going to look for my mom, Dory," explained Nemo. "Remember?"

"I thought your mom was dead."

"My dad had a dream about her. Remember? He heard her voice and he thought she was still alive." There was a pause. Then Dory asked, "What were we just talking about again?" The two clownfish looked at each other, annoyed. Then, Marlin said to Dory. "Dory! We're going on an adventure. A fun adventure. Do you want to come with us?"

"An adventure," exclaimed Dory. "I love adventures! Where are we going?"

"To explore the ocean," said Marlin in pretend excitement.

"Explore the ocean! I'd love to come!"

"Well then, you'd better hurry up because we're leaving right now." The clownfish began to swim away. Dory chased after them, yelling, "Wait! Wait for me!" The other two stopped and waited for her to catch up. Then, they were off on their search for Coral.

Chapter 3

A few seconds after the fish left, Dory asked, "Where are we going?"

"To a magical land with narwhals and angelfish," said Marlin sarcastically.

"Really?! We are?!"

"No, Dory. We're going to search for Nemo's mom."

"Where is she? I thought she was dead."

"I don't know where she is, Dory. That's why we're looking for her." Marlin sighed, annoyed with Dory. They then continued on their journey.

Chapter 4

After what seemed like an hour, the three fish came to an area of the ocean where lots of fish were swimming around. A few feet from them, a hammerhead shark and a mako shark, were swimming around, calling out in Australian accents things like, "Join the Fish and Sharks Together Organization," or "Fish are friends, not food." When the sharks saw the three, the hammerhead shark said to the mako, "Hey, don't we know those fish?"

"Yeah. They're the ones that were searching for their son a month ago," said the mako.

"Let's invite them into the club," suggested the Hammerhead. The mako agreed and then they both approached the three fish.

"Hello, there," said the hammerhead.

"Remember us," asked the mako. The fish stared at the sharks, trying to remember where they had seen them before. Then Dory exclaimed, "Hey, I know you! You're Quaker and Scum!"

The sharks smiled at her. The hammerhead said "Close, its _Anchor_ and _Chum_." Then, Marlin said, "Yes. You're the sharks we met when Dory and I were looking for my son."

"Yeah, that's us," said Chum, the mako. There was a pause. Then, Nemo asked, "Wait, what happened to your friend?"

"Oh, Bruce," asked Anchor, the hammerhead. "He met a special someone from out in the Pacific Ocean and decided to move out there with her."

"If I were him, I would've asked her to stay here," said Chum. "This place is so much better than the Pacific Ocean."

"I bet they moved to America," said Anchor. He, for some reason, had a slight dislike for Americans and anything having to do with them. "They have everything over there," he added, sarcastically.

"Hey, I'm sure they're not that bad," said Chum.

"Oh, yeah, have you ever met an American before," asked Anchor.

"Well, no, but I saw some Americans diving around our boat a few days ago and they seemed nice."

"Don't be fooled by their looks, they're just doing it for show."

"Oh, come on, you've never even met them before." Just then, the sharks remembered that the three fish were still there. They turned towards the three fish and Anchor smiled at the fish, embarrassed. "We are so sorry; we didn't mean to argue in front of you."

"It's all right," said Marlin. There was a pause. Then, Chum said, "Oh, I almost forgot why we came over. We would like to invite you to the first meeting of the first meeting of the Fish and Sharks Together organization."

"It's a new organization we created to join together fish and sharks and help them form a good relationship with each other," added Anchor.

"Since our other program was so successful, we decided to create this program," said Chum. There was a pause. Then, Anchor asked, "So…do you want to join? We really need more members."

"Well, that's very nice of you, but-," began Marlin. Dory interrupted him by saying, "Sound's fun! I'd love to come!"

"Me, too," exclaimed Nemo.

"Are you two forgetting what we are trying to do? Who we're looking for," asked Marlin, panicked.

"Dad, we can take a break from our search for a little while, can't we? We won't have to stay that long." There was a pause. Everyone looked at Marlin expectantly. Finally, Marlin made up his mind. "All right," he said. "But only for a little while."

"All right. Come on, then," said Chum. Anchor took Marlin and Dory in his flippers. Chum took Nemo in one of his. Then, they were off to the meeting.

Once they arrived at the meeting, the group saw that a small group of sharks and fish, mostly fish, were there.

"Looks like we did a good job of recruiting," said Anchor.

"Hopefully more sharks will show up," said Chum. The sharks then swam to a podium at the front of the crowd. Anchor then said to the group, "All right, everyone, we're going to start the meeting now." Everyone stopped talking and listened.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the Fish and Sharks Together organization," said Chum.

"Before we begin our meeting," said Anchor, "Let's take a moment to introduce ourselves. When I say 'go', find as many people as you can that you have never met before and talk to them. Okay, 'go.'" Everyone then began talking to each other again. Marlin just hung out by himself, feeling a little bit awkward. After a few minutes, another clownfish came up to him and said, "I've never seen you before. Where do you live?"

"I live in the reef," answered Marlin.

"That's where I live," exclaimed the other clownfish. "I can't believe we've never met before! I'm Shelley."

"I'm Marlin."

There was a pause. Then, Shelley asked, "If you don't mind me asking, do you have any children?"

"Yes, I have a son, Nemo," said Marlin.

"I have a daughter, Tracy. We should get together sometime. I would love to meet your family. Is your son here?"

"He's over there," Marlin gestured towards Nemo, who was talking to some other fish. Marlin was about to ask Shelley where Tracy was when Dory approached the two. "Have I met you before," asked Dory.

"No, you haven't, Dory," said Marlin. "This is Shelley. She lives in our neighborhood." There was a pause. Then, Dory asked, "Are you sure we've never met?" Shelley nodded.

"Okay, then," said Dory. Then, Dory swam away.

Once Dory had left, Shelley asked Marlin, "Was that your mate?"

"What, no, of course not," exclaimed Marlin. "She's just a friend that's living with Nemo and I, kind of like my adopted sister." Marlin then looked at the seafloor below him and said sadly, "My mate actually died."

Shelley gasped and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I know exactly how you feel. My mate died, too. A barracuda came and killed him."

Marlin looked at Shelley and asked, "Really?" Shelley nodded. Then, Marlin said, "That's how _my_ mate died."

"That's weird both of our mates died the same way," said Shelley. There was a pause. Then, Shelley said, "Sometimes I wish he was still alive. He was such a great fish." Just then, Marlin remembered his search for Coral.

"Sorry to be rude, but I have to go," said Marlin, turning away from Shelley.

"Where are you going," asked Shelley, confused as to why Marlin was leaving so soon.

"It's a long story," said Marlin. He then went to find Nemo and Dory. Just as he was swimming away from Shelley, she called, "Wait!" Marlin turned.

"I'll see you in the reef," she said.

"Okay," said Marlin. Then, he went to find Nemo and Dory. He found them talking to a group of fish.

"Nemo, Dory, we have to go," said Marlin.

"But dad," protested Nemo. "The meeting hasn't even officially started yet."

"Well, you can come back for another meeting," said Marlin.

"Dad, I want to stay for this meeting."

"We don't have time for that. We have to go find your mother. Now, come on. Let's go." Before Nemo could say anything else, Marlin pulled him away from the other fish by his right fin.

"Come on, Dory. We're leaving," said Marlin.

"Already," asked Dory, disappointed. "But I was having so much fun." The three then said goodbye to the sharks and they then continued their search.

Chapter 5

The fish swam throughout the sea, asking every fish they passed where Coral was. But, no one knew. After a few hours, Marlin asked, partially to himself, "Where could she be?" Just then, it began to get dark. Everyone became afraid, for they couldn't see anything.

"Dad, I'm scared," said Nemo.

"It's all right, son," said Marlin. Let's just find somewhere to spend the night and we'll be okay."

"What's going on," asked Dory. "Am I dead," panicked Dory.

"Dory, relax," said Marlin. "You're not dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." There was a pause. Then Dory asked, "Why is it so dark?" Marlin and Nemo ignored her. The three then began to get tired, so they started to search for a place to sleep. After a few minutes, a light appeared in the distance.

"Hey look," exclaimed Dory. "A light!"

"What is it," asked Nemo, fascinated by the light.

"I don't know," said Marlin, even more afraid now then he was before. "But whatever it is, it probably wants to eat us."

The light became bigger and bigger as it got closer to them. Everyone looked at each other, a little afraid. Just then, an anglerfish appeared. Dory screamed and hid behind Marlin.

"Shhh, don't be frightened," said the anglerfish. "I am here to help you."

"Who are you," asked Marlin.

"That is not important," said the anglerfish. "What is important, however, is the fact that you three seem to be lost."

"Yes, we are, said Marlin. He was about to say something else, but the anglerfish stopped him. The anglerfish looked at Marlin as if he were searching for something. Then, the anglerfish said, "You are searching for something or someone."

"Yes," said Marlin slowly.

"And that special someone or something has a special meaning to you."

"Yes, we're searching for my mate." Marlin then told the anglerfish about his dreams.

"Ah, so that is what you are searching for. You know, sometimes when you are searching for something, you end up finding something else."

"What do you mean," asked Marlin.

"You will find out when the time comes." The anglerfish then swam away.

"How will I know when the time comes," asked Marlin. But, the anglerfish had already swum away. Everyone stared at where the anglerfish was.

Chapter 6

The next morning, the three fish continued their journey. After a few days of searching, they came to a coral reef. Thousands of fish were bustling about.

"Well, this is just great," said Marlin. "We're back where we started. He was about to leave the reef when a familiar voice called his name. He turned to see Shelley swimming towards him.

"Where have you been," she asked once she got to Marlin. "I've been looking around the reef for you these past few days, but I've never seen you."

"That was because I wasn't here," said Marlin. He then explained to Shelley about his search for Coral.

Once Marlin was done, Shelley said, a little confused, "I thought your mate died."

"I thought she was, too. But then, I kept having these dreams about her. She was calling to mw. After thinking about those dreams, I decided to go find her."

"So, you traveled the entire ocean to search for your mate because she was calling to you in your dreams?"

Marlin nodded.

"Did you find her?"

"No," Marlin said sadly. He then bowed his head and cried. Shelley swam next to Marlin and put her fin on his back, trying to comfort him.

"There, there. It's all right. Maybe not finding her means that it's time to move on. Get out there and find someone else. I know there's at least one fish in the ocean that would love to meet you." Marlin stopped crying and looked up at Shelley. He then realized that the anglerfish was right. All this time, he had been searching for something he wasn't sure still existed, yet he found exactly what he needed.

All of a sudden, they heard laughing and screaming. The clownfish turned to see Nemo and Dory playing with another small clownfish.

"I see our kids met each other," said Shelley. They watched them play together. After a few seconds, Shelley said, "It's amazing how great they got along. It's been really hard for Tracy to make friends. She's just so shy.

"Really? She doesn't seem like it," said Marlin.

"She's fine once she gets to know someone. It's when she doesn't know someone that she gets shy."

They watched their children for a few more minutes. Then, Marlin asked, "Shelley?"

"Yes, Marlin?"

"Do I make you happy?"

"Marlin, of course you make me happy! You're a really nice fish. I really enjoy talking to you."

"Well, I feel the same way, too." There was a pause. Then, Marlin asked, "Shelley, is it too soon to be thinking about finding a mate again?"

"It's up to you. If you think it's time, go ahead. If you're not ready, wait."

There was a pause. Then, Marlin turned towards Shelley and asked, "Shelley?"

Shelley turned and asked, "Yes?"

"Are you ready to find a new mate?" Shelley thought about Marlin's question for a moment. Then, she said, "Yes."

"I'm ready, too. And, I was wondering if you'd like to be my mate."

Shelley was shocked. She was speechless at first, for she didn't expect Marlin to ask her something like that. After thinking about it for a while, though, she said, "Marlin, this is so sudden. Are you sure I'm the right fish for you?"

Marlin smiled at Shelley and replied, "Yes."

Shelley thought long and hard about it. Then, she said, "Marlin, I think you're a wonderful fish. I know we haven't known each other for very long, but when I first met you, I knew you were right for me."

"So, is that a yes," asked Marlin anxiously.

Shelley smiled at Marlin and replied, "Yes, it is." The two clownfish then went back to watching their kids. Shelley leaned against Marlin, and he did the same for her.

A few months later, Shelley, Marlin and Dory were taking Nemo and Tracy to school. Once they got there, Shelley said to the kids, "Okay, this is it. Your first day of school. Make it one of the best days of your lives."

"Okay, Shelley," said Nemo.

"I'll try," said Tracy, who was a little nervous about starting school, as she was every year.

"Tracy, you have to be more confident with yourself," said Shelley to her daughter as she put a fin on Tracy's side. "You _will_ have a good day today. I promise you." Shelley, Marlin and Dory then hugged both of the kids, and they returned the adult's hugs.

"Bye kids," said Marlin. "Have a good day. Be safe. Don't do anything that will hurt you."

"Dad, we'll be fine," said Nemo in an annoyed tone.

"Are you sure? Because things could happen-"

"Marlin, they'll be fine," encouraged Shelley. Marlin then looked at his children. They nodded to confirm.

"All right. I trust you two to be safe. Look out for each other," said Marlin.

"We will," said Tracy. She and Nemo then held fins with each other and swam away.

"Bye kids. Have fun today," called Shelley.

"Be safe," called Marlin.

"Bye kids," called Dory. Tracy and Nemo turned and waved to the adults, who waved back. Then, the adults watched as the kids went off to school.

The End

**Phew! Finally done with this story! Sorry it took me so long to post it, I've been extremely busy this week. I'll try to find more time to write more stories, since I have a bunch of ideas running around in my head. Be on the lookout for another one soon! Remember to read and review and no bashing of the story, please! Thank you! **


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